Alex Hourston’s debut, In My House was published by Faber and Faber in 2015. She was named as a New Face for Fiction by the Observer and the novel was a Guardian Book of the Year.

Her second novel, Love After Love, is an adultery tale, published in March 2018, which has been described as ‘the kind of controversial novel that will be catnip to book groups,’ and as reading ‘with the pace of a thriller but the beauty of a tragic love story.’

Alex lives outside Brighton with her family.

Jane Lythell

Jane Lythell worked as a television producer and commissioning editor before becoming Deputy Director of the BFI and Chief Executive of BAFTA. Her latest novel, Behind Her Back, lifts the lid on the glamorous world of television.

Join us for a multi-genre flash fiction writing challenge for all ages, abilities and interests. This exercise will be in two parts and each writer will have to feature three words in their piece but even we don’t know what they will be! Each participant will contribute a word to the pool and three will be randomly selected. Writers may work solo or in groups.

Patrice Lawrence is an award-winning writer of stories for children and young people. Orangeboy, her debut book for young adults was shortlisted for the Costa Children’s Book Award, won the Bookseller YA Prize and Waterstones Prize for Older Children’s Fiction and has been shortlisted for many regional awards. Her second book about young adults was published in July 2017. It was book of the week in the The Times, Sunday Times and Observer and one of The Times top children’s books in 2017. Both books have been nominated for the Carnegie Award.

Patricia Cleveland-Peck has published fourteen children’s books including The String Family, Much Too Much, The Bus From Beyond and Shepherd Boy. She has also written adult books, plays and visited many countries as a travel journalist. Patricia lives on a smallholding in rural Sussex with lots of animals and a big untidy garden.

[12+] Kate Hodges has over 25 years writing experience on magazines, having been a staffer on publications including The Face, Bizarre, Just Seventeen, Smash Hits and Sky, and written for many more, including The Guardian, The Sunday Express, Kerrang! and NME. She has also worked for Rapido TV, makers of cult show Eurotrash, luxury brand marketing company Noir Luxe, and P For Production films. She writes part-time for The Green Parent magazine. Her first ‘proper’ book, Little London, a guide to free and cheap, family-friendly things to do in the capital, was published in 2014. Her book, London in an Hour, came out in 2016, and Rural London, in 2017. Her fourth book, I Know A Woman was published by Aurum in February 2018.

A dramatic and entertaining solo literary recital of readings from Jane and Cassandra Austen’s letters, prose and poetry about sisters, compiled and performed by Hampshire actress and speaker Rowan Suart, illustrating Jane’s life from an early age and her preoccupation with sisters in her work.